Consumers have an ever-increasing array of options for consuming media content, in terms of the types of media content (e.g., video, audio, etc.), providers of the media content, and devices for consuming the media content. Media content providers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and effective at providing media content quickly and reliably to consumers.
Media content (e.g., movies, television shows, videos, music, and electronic books) often has an associated rating indicating the suitability of the content for particular audiences. Such a rating typically represents the corresponding media content as a whole. For example, a movie might be rated R, indicating that it contains some adult material. However, many portions of the movie may be suitable for a larger audience. Unfortunately, current rating systems force consumers to make decisions about whether to consume media content based on ratings that may only represent a tiny fraction of the rated content, thus eliminating a large amount of otherwise suitable content from consideration.